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ATR Year End Banquet

We had a great turnout at the Quarter Deck restaurant for our year end awards banquet. President Sue did another fantastic job of serving as master of ceremonies for the afternoon; entertaining us with her own brand of charm and wit. After our meal, Sue conducted a short business meeting. Then the fun began. First she recognized the officers and board members from the past year with a nice tote bag. I guess she wants them to be able to haul around all the ATR stuff. Receiving bags were Francine Grady, Dot Gross, Margaret Shuman, Glenda Dawkins, Pat Baker, Irene Weissman and Dana Bosanquet. Next she thanked all those who hosted a ride during the year with a gift. They are Margaret Shuman, Andy and Marcia Michel, Bob Reardon, Pat Baker, Sandy Walsh, Marsha Schloesser, Linda and Jerry Harrington, Barbara Woodring, Nancy Kottke, Carol Perez, Wanda Watson, Francine Grady and Karen Lappi.

Then Sue handed out all the ‘fun’ awards. There are awards that poke fun at our riders’ shortcomings during the year. They are not meant to offend anyone, but we are all human and working with horses certainly keeps us humble. So with that in mind, the first award went to Michelle McWilliams who received the “Tighten the Girth” award for failing to thoroughly tighten her horse’s girth at the 110th Street Ride. Pam Shofkam received her very own “Popcorn Bowl” award from the McCulley Ride. We were making popcorn around the campfire at this ride and passing it around. Every time the bowl reached Pam, she kept it. So if you were sitting past Pam, you did not get any popcorn! Richard Lamb and Steve Weissman received the “Big Girl Panties – Deal With It” award for complaining about sore back ends on the Marandy Ride last fall. It seems they were too sore to ride on the last day. Funny, all the ladies managed to get in the saddle and ride. Sandra Stiefeld received the ATR “Dancing in the Street” award for her performance in the Umatilla Christmas parade. Her horse danced to and fro the entire time and would not stand still. Sandra took it all in stride. Dot Gross received the “Top Knots” award which is a book on how to tie knots. It seems her horse, KC, has a tendency to escape, not matter how he is tied to the trailer. Hopefully Dot will get a few hints from this book.

We have some riders who think they are Daniel Boone types and can blaze their way through the trails and still get home again. The problem is they don’t make it home. Yet, they won’t admit that they are lost. So to Nanci Fish, Barbara Kinard, Margaret Shuman, Mike Pranger and Leigh Altman went the official ATR “I’m Lost” T-shirts. And a word of advice to anyone wanting to ride with these folks, do not let them lead! Yvonne Mainville received the “Wayward Wanderer” award for the way she meanders too and fro on the rides. She heads off down the trails and next thing she is coming back at you. Barbara Woodring received the ATR 2007 “Chef of the Year” award for her great cooking and food provided on her ride. I did not attend that one, but heard there was enough food to feed an army. Faye Councill received free swimming and water crossing lessons for her horse Brownie. He refused to cross the water crossings at the Little Big Econ ride. Although Faye tells me he is doing much better now! Gaile Gibson, known for attending all the yard sales to sell her stuff, received a hat that says, “I’m Not Buying”. It seems she ends up buying more stuff than she sells. Sue Rogers received a hydration pack, membership to the Ocala Mountain Biker Assn. and a trophy for being the ATR Mountain Biker Champion of the Year. She bravely rode a bike in the Ride-Roll-Run Relay of the Greenways in Feb. It was a very tough course, yet she finished it and actually passed a few riders on the way.

Linda Hunter received the “Mud Wrestling Champion” award for taking a mud bath with her horse on one of the rides. Andy and Marcia Michel received the “AAA Towing” Award for their truck breakdown at Doe Lake. George and Pat Baker are the ATR “Gambler’s of the Year” for their wins at the Doe Lake campout. Billy Johnson also received “Big Girl Panties – Deal With It” award for his sore backside on the Trim the Trails Ride. Marcia Michel received the “I Wore by Big Girl Panties and Dealt With It” Award for surviving the rodeo antics of her horse at the Marandy Ride last month. She took off down the trail and managed to stay on and was cool as a cucumber. She showed all the guys how to ‘deal with it’. Michelle McWilliams received the “Most Nervous Rider’ award. Michelle has a terrific trail horse, yet she is always nervous that something is happening or is going to happen. Francine Grady received the “Trail Guide of the Year” award for all her help with the rides. Linda and Dale Hunter received the “Attendance Award” for attending the ATR monthly meetings. They are always there, each and every month. Sandy Walsh received the “Most Likely to Bring the Bottle” award as she has her cocktail hour at 5PM every day at our campouts. Linda and Jerry Harrington received the “Best Attended Ride” award for their turnout at the Foxhunt Ride in December. The ride was packed. And they were fantastic hosts. Fortunately us, they have agreed to do it again this next year. Sue recognized Angie Bryant for all she does for the club. Angie is a member of our club and works for Seminole Feed. She comes to all the big events, Hospice Ride, Obstacle Challenge, Children’s Ride and Doe Lake Campout and brings the horse scale, which everyone loves, and brings bags of feed or coupons to give away. She is a great supporter of our club.

Valorie Johnson received the “Volunteer of the Year” award as she was at all the big events helping out. Sandy Walsh received a “Retirement Watch”, one big enough to read, as she officially retired from being the newsletter editor after many years. Glenda Dawkins received a plaque of “Sunshine” for all she does for the Sunshine Committee. She keeps tabs on what members are sick and sends out cards and flowers. Dot Gross received the ATR trophy for the “Lowest Score in the Obstacle Challenge”. She and KC gave it their best shot. We hope to see her out there next year trying it again. The club awarded Sandy Walsh and me with a beautiful Montana Silversmith watch for all the work we do for the club. The watches are very nice and much appreciated.

Sue had two serious awards to give out, once all the fun was over. And Sue’s motto for this event was “this is all in fun”. First, we have a member who, for health reasons, had to give up her riding this year. Yet she is still very much a part of our activities. So we gave to Betty Ann Giles, the “Out of Saddle” award. It says, “you may be out of the saddle, but you will never be out of our hearts”. The second award was one we thought about doing this year and it is to recognize one of our great trail horses. This club would be nothing without the great horses that we ride; some are a bit nutty, but others are solid, safe citizens that anyone would be proud to own. For this first year we wanted to pick a very special horse. One that we all have seen at all the rides and one that is just a trooper. Unfortunately, we lost her this year due to age and the problems that come along with it. Yet we still felt that Brandy, owned by Pam Courtemanche, was the most deserving of this award. I have pictures of her in the albums all dressed up in whatever Pam wanted to do with her. She dressed her up for the Veteran’s Day ride, for the Christmas parades and for Halloween. Brandy did it all. Her name is the first one on our perpetual trophy and Pam gets to keep the trophy for one year. This beautiful trophy was generously sponsored by Wendi and Brian Miller. We thank them for this support. For the grand finale of the day, Sue was presented with a camping stove and table by the club. She has served us well as President and will do so again next riding season. See you’all in September.